Jeju Air will suspend operations on the Incheon-Guam route for the first time in 13 years. The decrease in preference for Guam, combined with Korean Air and JIN AIR increasing seat supply on the route, is believed to have impacted profitability. Jeju Air also decided to suspend operations on the Busan-Da Nang route for the same reason.
According to the airline industry on the 27th, Jeju Air announced that the flights departing from Guam and arriving in Incheon were canceled due to changes in the business plan, informing customers with reservations sequentially starting from October. These tickets were sold just two months ago during Jeju Air's annual maximum discount promotion 'JJIM Special Price' event in June.
Jeju Air plans to suspend operations on the Incheon-Guam route until March 28 of next year, although it has not yet been determined when operations will resume. This marks the first suspension of the Incheon-Guam route by Jeju Air, excluding the COVID-19 period.
The Incheon-Guam route was once considered a popular route thanks to family vacationers and honeymoon demand, but recent demand has decreased while supply has increased. Korean Air and JIN AIR have recently increased their flights from 14 times a week to 21 times and from 7 times to 14 times, respectively. This change follows the Fair Trade Commission's condition to maintain over 90% of seat supply on more than 40 routes during the merger approval process of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines in 2019.
For the same reason, Jeju Air has decided to suspend the route from Busan to Da Nang, Vietnam, from October until March 28 of next year.
Jeju Air is reportedly guiding customers through the refund process. One customer said, "My flight in October was canceled and changed to November, but that was canceled too, and I am really frustrated because I had booked a non-cancellable hotel." Another customer mentioned, "I was told that no alternative flights would be provided, so I eventually canceled my trip. I don't plan on using Jeju Air again."
A representative from Jeju Air stated, "Due to route stagnation and supply surplus from corporate mergers, business plans have changed, and operations on the route have been canceled until March 28 of next year. We are guiding customers on refunds along with alternative airline tickets."